It's All About Haruko, Baby
by Mattitude 4 Life
Summary: Resurrected! When Haruko's turned into a baby, Naota struggles with accepting both Haruko's sudden innocence and his romantic interest in Ninamori. NaotaxNinamori.
1. Prologue

**It's All About Haruko, Baby!**

**Prologue**:

It was the closest she'd been to Earth in months as she rode in a small ship supplied by her superiors, but Haruko's mind was focused on much more important matters at the moment as she was locked in the ultimate battle of wits, namely programming a VCR.

"Oh come on! I hate programming these stupid things," Haruko said aloud as she fumbled with the buttons on the remote to the device. As she was busy with that, however, she failed to notice that one of the many capsules containing dangerous gases being contained on the ship had fallen over, filling up the room with a blue gas that created a feel much like fog. As Haruko began coughing and saw the fog, she turned around and noticed the particular capsule that had fallen, causing her eyes to widen in utter horror.

"Err... dammit! Of all the ones it could've been..." Knowing that she would need to leave some sort of ID, she began to write a letter explaining the situation as she set the ship on autopilot toward a certain small town where nothing ever happens in Japan.

* * *

It had been just another day so far for Naota as he walked home from school. Another day of schoolwork, another day of occasionally talking to Eri (he no longer called her by her last name of Ninamori), Masashi, and Gaku, another day without Haruko or Mamimi. He sighed upon thinking of that one. Sure, everything was fine without them. Sure, Eri had filled the void left by both leaving. And yet... 

No, he had to get over this. He _had_ to. He couldn't keep dwelling on this, or else he'd never be able to get on with his life. Naota finally reached home, and there saw a sight that both pleased him and made him nearly have a heart attack: a small ship that looked to be from space. Though he'd never seen the ship before, he had a sinking suspicion as to where it came from. He walked aboard, and inside saw a naked little girl of around two years sitting on the ground, playing with a toy car. No, not a car... a scooter, in fact apparently a Vespa. A pair of clothes lay in the chair in front of the controls, laying in a pile as though they had been abandoned.

"Vroom! Vroom!" the girl yelled out, not seeming to notice the sudden intruder. Naota was just about to begin looking through the ship for a sign of anyone else when he looked down once more and saw a folded up sheet of paper with his name written on it laying on the floor of the shuttle. He reached down to pick it up and then opened it.

"_Hey, uh, don't have much time. I accidently caused a dangerous chemical to fall over. You'll probably see me on the ground somewhere, unless I end up drinking one of the other chemicals in which case I am more than likely dead. Anyhoo, just figured you should know the effects should wear off in two weeks. Unless I'm allergic, then it might be a day or two extra."_

Naota was speechless, contemplating the fact that not only was Haruko suddenly back in his life, but it was in toddler form. His shock was cut off as the toddler Haruko suddenly noticed his presence and, like any child left alone with a complete stranger, began to scream, mostly just a bun of wails but occasionally yelling out the word, "Stranger", leaving her toy laying on the floor in a quickly growing puddle of tears. Naota, knowing nothing about babies and never having had any experience with them, instinctively picked her up and began doing what he had seen in such instances on TV and in books, mainly speaking in overly-high gibberish in an attempt to calm her down. Didn't work. So he tried rocking her. Still nothing. Naota decided to try one last ditch option and grabbed the toy, offering it to Haruko as though he were offering some type of bizarre truce of some strange sort.

"Wh... who're 'ou?" she asked as her wails reduced to sniffles, grabbing the toy and holding onto it like a normal child would a security blanket, gripping onto it as though losing the toy would mean losing her very life, like her soul would be ripped from her and cast into the unknown if she were to ever let go.

"My name is Naota," he said as calmly as one could possibly be in his situation. He even surprised himself- he certainly didn't _feel _calm.

"Nao... ta," she mimicked slowly, almost all of the tears having stopped by now. He set the child on the floor and began to consider his predicament: he knew nothing about toddlers, he was feeling like his life could never have a sense of order, and... well, he just couldn't believe it. This cute little two-year old who would begin to scream if she ever saw a stranger, and could be calmed so easily- she _wasn't _Haruko. She _couldn't_ be. He had always pictured Haruko as being wacky and strong no matter what her age; how _could_ he accept this? It wasn't real. There was no way whatsoever any of this could actually be happening.

The war of emotions waging in Naota was suddenly interrupted as he felt something warm and wet. At first he thought it might of been his imagination, a subconscious reaction of sorts to help take his mind off of things. But then he looked down and saw a small yellow puddle forming around Haruko, who was sitting and holding her toy Vespa in the air.

"Oops, I wet."

* * *

And there's the prologue. Whaddya think? This is only the first story I've done based on emotions and subconsciousness and jazz, but I think this is looking great so far. 


	2. Chapter 1

I can't remember what became of Kanti at the end of the series, so pretend he's still in Mabase.

**It's All About Haruko, Baby!**

**Chapter 1**

**Day 1**

After the stream of urine had stopped flowing, Naota scooped up Haruko (who was still clutching onto her toy) and carried her to the back of the ship, practically praying that there was some sort of thing in the back that could help his cause. All he saw was a bed and a dresser. It would have to do.

He laid Haruko down on the bed and she asked in an obnoxiously cute manner, "Is it nap time?" He ignored her for the moment and opened the top drawer of the dresser. He didn't look inside, instead keeping an eye on the baby (who now had her thumb jammed into her mouth as she lay down, pretending to sleep). He pulled something out and turned to look at it before turning red as a cherry in embarrassment when he realized he was holding one of Haruko's bras. Naota quickly stuffed it back inside the drawer, then opened the next one down and pulled out a T-shirt. Deciding it would work for now, he placed her inside it with her legs sticking out from the arm holes and the rest of her inside, he then took the part that was covering the girl and shoved it inside of itself, covering the neck hole and for all intents and purposes creating a diaper.

"He he he, again, again!" she chirped, amused by what she perceived to be some sort of magic trick.

"I'm gonna go right now, but I'll be right back," Naota tells her.

* * *

Who could help with Haruko? That question was on Naota's mind as he walked through the streets of Mabase. His family? In a word, no. Considering the attitudes of his father and grandfather (especially the former) he didn't like the idea of leaving Haruko with them. Kanti? Probably wouldn't be keen on the idea of having to deal with Haruko yet again, and Haruko's reaction upon her return to normal would probably involve many things exploding. A neighbor? He couldn't think of anyone in town who would be willing to keep the secret. The police? Didn't like the idea of Haruko being with them when she returned to normal; could cause her to freak out when she returned to normal, and could also result in explosions and smacks upside the head with a guitar for all.

"Hmm..." he muses while not watching where he's going, bumping heads with someone. He looks to see that it is, coincidentally, Eri.

"Something on your mind?" she asked; she really had changed a lot since the scandal ordeal, and everyone could tell. She no longer had that aurora as though you were beneath her when you talked to her, instead being very easily approachable and basically a normal kid. The fact that she was the mayor's daughter now seemed more like a small fact rather than the thing she was most well known for.

"Just... thinking about something."

"Yeah? Like what?"

"Well... you remember Haruko?"

"Yeah."

"She showed up a little bit ago and told me that she was going to be busy with something and needed a favor. She left me her... uh... niece, who also happens to be named Haruko. And you can imagine how it'd go if I left it up to Dad..." It was a lie made up right off the top of his head, but it seemed to do the trick.

"So, you don't know what to do, right?"

"Yeah, that's it."

"Well, you're in luck, because my mom happened to make sure I learned all that stuff."

"Huh? When did that happen?"

"Some inspiring anime artist showed up for a week about two years ago and brought his family along. He had some ideas for him doing anime shorts to introduce people to the local businesses in return for getting some free advertisements for his other work around town. Anyway, he brought along a one-year-old daughter and I helped to look out for her while him and his wife were busy going through negotiations because my mom wanted me to. Said it was important I learned how to do these things then in case the need ever arose."

"That's convenient." Naota turned and led the way, all the while thinking to himself how inconvenient it was that now not only was he going to have to deal with being around Haruko again, but Eri as well, who he was beginning to feel more and more uncomfortable around... in a good way.

* * *

"What's with the ship?" Eri asked as the two got to the point where it was plainly in view.

"She left it behind. She left in an escape pod so she could cover her tracks effectively." It was beginning to disturb Naota with how good he was getting at making up lies off the top of his head.

"So, did she happen to leave any supplies? You know, bottles, food, diapers, toys, clo-" the girl was suddenly interrupted by a loud shriek from inside the ship. The two rushed in, closing the door behind them, and ran to the room where the crying was coming from. When they got in there, they saw Haruko lying on the bed, flailing her limbs all about while lying on the bed, screaming her head off.

Eri instinctively scooped her up and put her over her shoulder, rocking the young girl back and forth and causing the crying to cease enough for Haruko to stutter out in between tears, "—m-me p-p-pee-pee again."

"Well, that didn't make long," Eri mumbled before laying the toddler down and going to work in removing the shirt-diaper. Naota stood facing the other way, partly out of disgust and partly out of shame of having to put Eri through all of this. Eri finished up doing what she could given the materials at hand, then said to Naota, "Sit here and watch her. I'll go buy some stuff she'll need. I don't think we'll need many clothes for her, and she can sleep in the bed, so all we'll really need's some food and some diapers since she looks old enough to use a cup."

Naota blushed, thankful he was facing the other way; it was bad enough having to come to these realizations all on his own, but having someone else, his de facto girlfriend of all people, tell him this was just too much. He lay down on the bed as Eri turned and walked away, stuffing his face into a pillow. The naked two-year-old sitting at the foot of the bed crawled up and lay next to him, draping one arm over him and saying, "Night night, Nota." What she meant as an innocent comment to someone she perceived to be a big brother-like figure, he took as a declaration of war between the Haruko he knew and this newer, younger, innocent Haruko.


	3. Chapter 2

**It's All About Haruko, Baby!**

**Chapter 2**

**Day 1**

As soon as Naota heard the door to the ship open up, he quickly sat up and laid the pillow back in its proper place to hide the fact that he basically hadn't watched Haruko a bit. Not like it was necessary to watch her, as she was taking a nap, but he still didn't want Eri to know. She came into view carrying a large bag, emptying it out to reveal a few packs of diapers and all the things that go with them, as well as two dresses and some toys for the child.

"You didn't get food?" he asked, confused by the fact that she would forget something as vital as that.

"No. I just decided she looks old enough to be able to eat solid food. We might have to cut it into small pieces for her, but I'm pretty sure she can handle it."

"Um... hello? How are we supposed to _get _food to her?" Naota snapped out of a reaction of sorts to the stress he was feeling, then blushed when he realized what just happened. "Sorry... just kinda stressed."

"Don't worry about it," Eri answered. "We could just take turns sneaking leftovers from dinner to her."

"That reminds me," Naota said in response, "How are we supposed to keep watch on her all the time? Like at night, or during dinner, or school?"

"Now that you mention it, we do have a problem there. How long did Haruko say it would be before she came back for her?"

"Two weeks," Naota answered. At least this part wasn't entirely a lie.

"Alright. How about we take turns for two weeks with one of us skipping school one day and the other the next, and whoever is keeping watch on her for the day will also stay up with her for the night before."

"That'd work," Naota replied. He considered the possibility of being caught, but then remembered that neither his father nor his grandfather was likely to care. "But what about dinner?"

"Well, I'm sure we could leave her alone for a half hour or so."

Naota didn't like that idea; it wasn't just the fact that he didn't like the idea of Haruko being left in an uncomfortable situation, but Naota also wasn't into the fact that, as Haruko put it in her note, there were many dangerous chemicals lying around in the ship. And if there was one thing worse than the prospect of having his visions of Haruko as a strong rebel shattered, it was the idea of causing her death just because of negligence.

"I'm not sure," Naota replied. "For all we know this ship could have some sort of self-destruct mechanism or something. What if she were to accidently set off, or to launch the ship into space? Plus, what if she gets hungry or something?" Another lie, but it did express his concern, albeit not in the same way.

"You have a good point... alright, how about this? We can take turns keeping her at our bedrooms during dinner, and we could sneak her out afterward. If she starts crying or something, we... well, we could come up with something. Maybe we could turn on a stereo in the same room or something to drown it out."

The idea of being caught didn't seem to be a very pleasing one either, but Naota knew that he would much more easily be able to live with himself letting someone find out about Haruko's current predicament than if she were to die or become seriously injured. Not being able to think of any better solution, Naota nodded in agreement.

"Good," Eri said seeing his head nod in confirmation, "Now then, I'd better get her dressed."

While diapering and dressing the still snoozing Haruko, Eri decided to make sure Naota learned all of this now instead of when it was time to actually need to implement said knowledge.

"Alright, first thing in putting on a diaper is to lift her up and slide it under," she explained, demonstrating it as she spoke. Naota found it hard to focus, but tried to pay attention as she guided him through the steps.

_I really don't want to make a girl so beau... NICE, go through all this,_ Naota thought as he continued onward with the tutorial on Toddlers 101. He had to correct himself at that one point: he really didn't want to think of Eri as beautiful, or lovely, or hot, or attractive, or someone he did or ever could love; after all, he was just getting over the last two times he had seen someone in that light.

* * *

Naota lay on his bed that night, flipping through a magazine and trying desperately to fall asleep as Eri spent the night in the ship taking care of Haruko but finding it to be nearly impossible to sleep as the events of the day raced through his head. The first girl he had truly loved was now a toddler, and the girl he'd thought he had loved but until he met Haruko he never realized what love really was... she was gone, off touring the world and expressing interest in photography. In fact, the page he was on in his magazine had a few photos of hers on it. And then there was Eri. She deserved better, he reasoned. He had snapped at her while she was offering a helping hand. He had lied to her so many times in one day that he couldn't count them all. And he was making her go through doing almost everything for him.

"I'm as helpless as Haruko," he whispered to himself, realizing that he was basically in the same boat as the pink-haired two-year-old. It made sense, this realization; she was still trying to understand potty-training, he was trying to understand taking care of someone her age. She was completely lost in a world much bigger than her, while he was stuck taking on a mission he knew nothing about. And she definitely had to feel as lost and confused being with two complete strangers as he did confronting his emotions. And while she was hurting him without even meaning to, in his mind at least he was doing the same to Eri.

* * *

Eri lay on the bed located in the ship, Haruko laying beside her, awake but drowsy (and truth be told, Eri was in the same boat).

"Whatchur name 'gain?" the toddler asked before yawning deeply.

"I'm Eri," she repeated for the third time. Still, she understood- she had been through this before and, despite the responsibility it thrust upon her, she had to admit there was fun in it. A lot of things that no one would ever consider fun, but it was still easy to get emotionally attached. She looked then to see that Haruko had already fallen asleep, a thumb in her mouth as a small amount of drool escaping from within said mouth. Eri sighed with satisfaction and laid down, joining her young charge in her slumber.


	4. Chapter 3

You can blame Lance-the-Young for the obnoxiously cute part with the guitar. He's the one who came up with the idea.

**It's All About Haruko, Baby!**

**Chapter 3  
****Day 2**

Naota looked at the clock. Five a.m. The boy hadn't slept a wink all night, and it could be told just by looking at him. His eyes were bloodshot and his hair was a mess. Naota managed to pull himself out of bed, exhausted but still unable to even contemplate sleep. Maybe he would skip with Eri for today; hide under the bed, attempt to get some rest, even if only for a few hours. A Wednesday, it was, and Naota couldn't imagine having to spend the remaining thirteen days, especially the weekends, doing as he had done the night before.

* * *

"Um... is he okay?" Gaku asked as he and Masashi stared at their friend during lunch. Naota 's head lay on the table, the boy all but asleep as he didn't move, make a sound, or seem to notice anything going on around him. He had decided to come to school after all- bad move on his part.

Naota attempted to pull himself up from the table, but failed. _13 more days of this... 13 more days..._ he thought, while continuing to lay unmoving.

* * *

Naota practically had to force himself out the building that day, struggling to take a sole step, much less walk the entire way home. As he walked, Masashi and Gaku ran up behind him.

"Hey, what was wrong with you today?" one asked. Naota was too tired to identify which was speaking.

"Yeah. We haven't seen you this bad off since that time your dad threw you down a well while trying to reenact Inuyasha."

"Didn't get any sleep," he droned in response, sounding almost like some sort of robot that was working on half the power it should have. Truth be told, that's pretty much how he was feeling anyway.

* * *

Eri was sitting on the floor of the ship, playing with Haruko (who, naturally, was focusing most of her attention on the Vespa). Eri had to admit that, although what Haruko had her do was basically as enjoyable as repeated blows with a wrench, there was something about it. It was that innocence... there was something about it Eri just couldn't seem to get enough of. She loved doing all this, she realized; her maternal instincts were just too strong to not do anything she could to make the toddler enjoy herself. She had to admit that a lot of that came from how, up until a number of months before, she was generally treated by her parents in the midst of their many crises, but there was also a natural drive there, taking any chance it got to make itself be known. Eri's contemplation of all of this was interrupted when the door to the ship opened and Naota stepped in, closed the door, and promptly fell over.

"What happened to you?" Eri asked before getting up and rushing over, helping the boy to his feet and dragging him off to the bed in the next room.

"Didn't get any sleep," he moaned, by now struggling to understand where he was at or what was happening.

"Worried about me and her? That's so sweet," she answered while lying the boy down on the bed. That definitely wasn't what Naota wanted to hear, but he was much too tired to argue this point with her or to really care.

"Tell you what: I'll stick around and watch Haruko for now and I'll take her to my house at dinner again. I'll bring her back afterwards and then maybe you'll have slept a little." Naota doubted he would be able to sleep now either, but closed his eyes anyway.

* * *

Apparently Naota did manage to fall asleep after all, as when he sat up he saw that Haruko was lying next to him, an arm draped over him. Eri looked at both while sitting in a kitchen chair she had apparently dragged in from somewhere else (probably his house).

"Awake already?" she asked as Naota rubbed his eyes and yawned.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"About three hours," she answered him. "I was just about to leave with her."

"I'll handle it," Naota replied, still a bit groggy but feeling much better than he had before. "I think I can manage that."

"Alright, good to hear you're feeling better. Don't worry, you really don't have to worry like that."

It wasn't so much worry as it was great guilt and a sense of having all he knew shattered. He'd thought Haruko had been the perfect warrior, born a-kicking and meant to die the same way she'd come in. He'd thought Haruko was and would be the only girl he could ever love but... No, he didn't want to even begin to consider that. It was too complex, and he knew it just wasn't going to work out.

"I'm sorry," he said simply, much to Eri's confusion. He then embraced her tightly, saying simply, "I'm sorry I've made you have to go through all of this."

Thought he couldn't see it, Eri grew bright red as soon as he hugged her, at the same time smiling like she'd just won the lottery. "Don't worry about it."

"Don't say that. It's all my thought... I shouldn't have dragged you into this..."

"Actually, to tell you the truth, I like doing this," she admitted, a bit surprised that he wasn't able to tell. He let go of her and stared at her like she just told him she was from Mars (well, considering where the toddler sleeping on the bed behind the two was from, that really wouldn't have been much of a big deal but...).

"What do you mean?"

"Just what I said. Sure, it's hard but... Well, it's kind of like school. You've got all that work, but you still have a ton of experiences that..." she broke off.

"Well... uh... I'd better get going," Naota said, quickly changing the conversation to avoid further humiliating himself.

"Yeah, same here," she answered, seemingly feeling very much like he was. As the two just stared at each other, they heard a voice behind them.

"He he, you two hug'd."

* * *

Naota walked into his room, having just finished dinner. As he entered, he failed to see Haruko at first, drawing a major concern.

"Where's she at?" he panicked, looking around the room and failing to see her. Suddenly a sound entered his ears- the sound of a Rickenbacker bass guitar emerging from the direction of his closet. He turned to face the door to that room, there seeing the door open and Haruko sitting inside, the guitar that used to be hers draped over her legs as she fiddled around with the strings on it.

"Nota," she said, "Will you petty please pway me a song?" she asked in an unbearably adorable fashion while continuing to occasionally pluck at the wires.

"I don't know ho-"

"Please?" she asked once more, giving him the adorably large eyes he'd only seen before in TV shows and the occasional movie. He had to admit, the effects in media weren't exaggerated in the slightest.

"Alright," he sighed, picking up the guitar and strumming a few lines on it. He sounded horrible, admittedly, but it was apparently enough to please the toddler as she began to shout out random words in an attempt to get an encore. He did so just to keep her happy, then laid the guitar back where it belonged and scooped her up, sneaking out the window of his room.

* * *

Naota laid Haruko down on the bed, having just fed her some small leftovers of what he had for dinner (he managed to sneak some into his pockets, with the attitude being that she was too young to notice or care about a little lint). Just as he was about to lay down as well and put the entire miserable, exhausting, embarrassing day behind him, she began to wail once more.

Naota sighed, "What's wrong this time?" Then it hit him, or rather his nose. He knew he'd have to experience changing her eventually, but he was hoping his first time would at least be with a wet diaper instead of... well, didn't matter at that point. He picked the girl up and laid her on the floor, carefully removing the diaper and doing everything Eri had told him to do the day before. Naota actually shocked himself with how well he did with his first time at changing Haruko's diaper; he could attribute part of that to the fact that she didn't struggle in the slightest, instead working along with him and doing everything she needed to. But he was still pleasantly surprised with just how well things had went. After finishing the job and dropping the soiled diaper in a trash bag Eri had left lying in the room for just that purpose, Naota laid the toddler down once more then lay down next to her.

"Nighty-night," she said, and though Naota had already begun to get somewhat used to this, it still bothered him a little.


	5. Chapter 4

**It's All About Haruko, Baby**

**Chapter 4  
****Day 3**

Naota lay in the bed on Haruko's ship, opening his eyes slowly and turning on a lamp lying on the floor next to the bed. He immediately realized two things: there was a dress and a diaper lying on the floor, and the bed and he himself were wet. He then looked directly in front of him to see Haruko, naked and staring at him while sitting at the foot of the bed.

"Great, she took her clothes off," he grumbled before picking the naked toddler up and laying her on the floor, reapplying the diaper and dress. During the entire time he did this, she giggled uncontrollably.

After finishing, she immediately asked, "Can we watcha movie?"

"How are we supposed to find-"

"I wanna watch a movie!" She seemed on the verge of a tantrum now.

"But-"

"I WANNA WATCH A MOVIE!"

* * *

Naota had somehow managed to sneak into his house without being caught, and inside there somehow or another managed to come across a Hello Kitty video. Naota really didn't want to think about how that might have ended up in there, but nonetheless it would work and that's all that mattered. He snuck back out of the house and went back to the ship, there finding Haruko sitting on the floor, still screaming about how much she wanted to watch a movie.

Even though her screaming was giving him a headache, Naota had to admit he was glad to hear it in one way; it proved that Haruko had always had that side to her, and it was something he definitely felt he needed to know. Naota put the tape into the VCR sitting in the corner of the room (not knowing it was the reason he was going through all of this anyway), then sat down and spent whoever knows how long going through Hello Kitty, the show that, in his mind at least, was the 5th level of hell in VHS form. If in fact this were true, then that would mean Haruko was some kind of demon because she enjoyed the show to no end, marveling at it as though it was the equivalent of such things from legend as the Fountain of Youth, or the Philosopher's Stone, or the destruction of all copies of One Night in Chyna.

* * *

After what felt like an eternity, Naota finally breathed a sigh of relief when the credits began to roll by. Haruko then started to shout, "Again! Again!"

Naota assumed she meant she wanted to watch another video rather than the same one, so he answered, "I don't think I can find anything else for you lying around..."

"No! I wanna watch that one again!" Then she began to scream once more. He made a quick note that two-year-olds were bipolar, then sighed and began to rewind the video, all while marveling to himself about the fact that anyone, even if it was someone the age of Haruko, could stand to watch the same thing twice in a row, especially Hello Kitty.

* * *

As the tape concluded a second time, Haruko suddenly turned from her extremely bratty side to her amazingly adorable side, toddling to the boy (who by now was about half brain dead) and pulling on the leg of his pants.

"Can you please tell me a story now? Pwease?" She exaggerated the last part to sound as sweet as possible. Naota quickly recomposed himself.

"Sure," he answered. This was something he could do- after all, all he had to do was make up something off the top of his head. It's something he had been doing for days... much to his chagrin, but that's beside the point.

"Alright... um..."

"You don't know no stories?" the girl asked, her eyes growing wide and staring up at him while starting to water.

"Sure I do. Once upon a time, there were these two brothers. Their mom died, so-"

"Their mommy died?" she asked, her eyes starting to widen at the thought.

"Um... but she came back, sorta."

"Yay!"

"Anyway, so they tried to bring her back. The older brother, Ed..."

* * *

About an hour later, Naota found himself patting Haruko on the back while holding her, the toddler screaming her head off after hearing his story/ summary of Fullmetal Alchemist. _How was I supposed to know she'd get scared? _Naota wondered while continuing to hold the screaming Haruko. He hadn't even managed to finish- she broke down at the point with Hughes' funeral, and had been screaming for about 15 minutes since then. Just when Naota thought he was done for, a sight that both pleased him and nearly caused his heart to jump out his throat occurred: the door to the ship opened, and Eri walked in.

They hadn't spoken once since the embarrassing moments of the day earlier, but she immediately rushed over upon seeing the screaming Haruko, taking her from Naota's arms and beginning to cradle her gently. This was the first time Naota had truly seen Eri acting motherly, truth be told, and he was surprised to see it fit.

"What's wrong with her?" Eri asked while continuing to rock Haruko. The screams had broken down to sniffles by now, but she was still shaking.

"She wanted me to tell her a story. I couldn't think of one so... I...recapped Fullmetal Alchemist?"

Eri stopped for a second, then gently laid Haruko down on the bed, covering her with the blanket. She then turned toward Naota and grabbed him by the ear, practically dragging him out of the ship. Haruko, who had stopped crying, said, "Nota's in twouble!"

* * *

Naota had to drag himself into his room, physically exhausted from dealing with Haruko all day and emotionally drained after being chewed out by Eri. He had just eaten dinner, and had little doubt that he would be able to get to sleep a lot more easily tonight than he did two nights earlier.

Naota flopped down on his bed, and was out like a light seconds later.


	6. Chapter 5

Haruko's role is almost nonexistent in this chapter, but that's mainly because this is more of a romantically driven chapter than the others.

**It's All About Haruko, Baby!**

**Chapter 5**

**Day 4**

Get up, go to school, go to the ship. Even though it was only the second day of him needing to do this (what with Eri handling the first and third days of the process), Naota already felt as though this were all part of the routine. Was he truly adjusting to it that easily? Or was it perhaps fear of what might happen if he were to forget? Of course, Eri would stick around and watch Haruko again, but still, ever since the ordeal the day earlier Naota had a bit of a phobia when it came to the idea of making Eri mad. Naota got out of bed with all this in mind, then realized something- it was Friday. That meant he had a whole weekend to look forward to of... spending time catering to a toddler's wants and needs. Super.

* * *

Eri lay in bed, having just changed Haruko before lying down while Haruko played. She just couldn't get over Naota. Not the Fullmetal Alchemist thing- she'd already gotten over that and was just awaiting the chance to apologize for flying off the handle. After all, he didn't know what he was doing, even if it should have been obvious. But what was really bothering the girl was the hug from two days earlier.

On one hand, sure, she was glad for it to happen. She had accepted her feelings for Naota and could tell he was struggling to do the same for her. But what the boy had said... She knew that although she had told him she enjoyed these things, and truthfully she did, Naota wouldn't be willing to accept that.

But Eri was stubborn; she wasn't going to accept an apology when there was no wrong, especially from a boy she could tell she didn't just have a crush on but flat out loved. Love... that was a funny word. What was love exactly? Was love an emotion? A dream? An illusion? Hard to say. But what love was, as far as she knew, was everything she wanted to gain. Love meant happiness, and happiness meant everything she ever really desired.

While Eri contemplated all of this, her thoughts were interrupted when Haruko shouted out, "I want juice!"

* * *

Even though Naota had had an excellent sleep the night before, he still found it incredibly hard to concentrate. For instance, while in one class (he was so out of it he didn't remember which), he was taking some notes. While staring at the board, he wrote, and when he looked down he saw that he hadn't copied a word of the notes, instead repeatedly writing the name Nandaba Eri. He had to admit that it had a nice ring to i- no. He couldn't think about such things. It wasn't going to happen. He didn't _want_ it to happen. Eri deserved better than him, no doubt.

But somehow, Naota, despite wishing that Eri would move on and forget about him, knew deep down inside himself that he didn't want Eri to love him _because_ he loved her. He wanted to protect her from what he saw as flaws within himself. But he still didn't want to face that fact.

* * *

Dirty diapers, scattered toys, spilt cups, these were the things that dreams were made from as far as Eri was concerned. Despite having spent very little time with Haruko in having only been known the infant for four days, Eri already felt a special bond between the two. The idea of Haruko leaving in ten days filled Eri with an anxiety like no other; she didn't want to ever say goodbye. But it had to happen, and Eri knew she'd one day have her own infant upon whom to spend all of this excess love.

Speaking of love, there was that word again. What could she do to get Naota to just give in? She figured it had something to do with fear that was keeping him away, but maybe it was a bit more complicated than that. Maybe he loved her so much that he didn't want to risk hurting her. Who knew with this odd little thing called love?

* * *

Naota sat in school during his last class of the day, eagerly awaiting the bell so he could hopefully get everything with Eri straightened out but at the same time dreading spending the weekend with her, knowing that, at the rate he was going, he would lose his mind spending the entire weekend around Eri.

He didn't want to love her, and was trying his hardest to keep from feeling this way about her. Love wasn't something he felt he could do at this point in time, do to how things had worked out with both Haruko and Mamimi.

* * *

Somehow, Eri managed to fall asleep while contemplating the whole ordeal with Naota. Not as though it mattered, because Haruko soon managed to, by some sort of miracle (or perhaps by climbing up Eri's arm that was hanging off the side), pull herself onto the bed, and fell asleep next to the girl. The door opened then, and in stepped Naota, who saw both asleep peacefully, Haruko rolled up into a little ball on Eri's stomach. Despite the fact that he really didn't want to acknowledge it, Naota knew this was one of the cutest and most beautiful things he had ever seen.

Naota, though he didn't want to disturb such a once-in-a-lifetime image, did what he felt he had to do and picked Haruko up off of Eri, laying the still sound asleep alien on the floor. He then nudged Eri with his hand a bit, causing the girl to stir. She sat up and blinked her eyes a few times, then recognized Naota as he sat down at the edge of the bed.

"Naota?" she asked, staring at the boy while he looked down at his feet like he was ashamed or embarrassed. Judging by the appearance on his face, it looked to be both.

"Eri..." he started, but trailed off. "I've been thinking..."

These were the words she had wanted to hear come out of his mouth all along, but he didn't get to finish what he was really saying before she pounced like a leopard, locking lips with the boy and causing his eyes to go wide with both shock and fear. He pushed her off, then wiped his mouth.

"Naota? What's wrong?" she asked, starting to suspect she was wrong on her guess of what he was thinking.

"No..." he said simply, "I didn't want this to happen."

"What are you talking about?"

"I didn't want you to love me! I don't want to love you! I _don't _love you." These words seemed to pierce deeply, and Naota himself knew that last one certainly wasn't true, but he sure wished it was.

"Naota..."

"I don't want to see you get hurt. You're too good for me, you know."

"What do you mean?" Eri asked, obviously hurt but trying not to show it.

"I've taken advantage of you. I've snapped at you. And... I just don't want you to have to go through any more of that. Especially from me." He was starting to get choked up.

Eri couldn't reply for a second, taking in everything that had just been said by the boy. She in the end came to but one conclusion...

"That's the most thoughtful thing I've ever heard..."

Huh? Did he hear her right? "What do you-"

"That's so romantic! Trying to keep me away, just because you love me that much!"

"B-but I don't..." And she lept once again, tackling the boy down and getting in another kiss before he managed to force her off.

"I just don't want to see you get hurt..." he answered, picking up the still sleeping infant off the floor and laying her back on the bed.

"Fine. I'll be back tomorrow then," she answered gleefully. Not quite the reaction Naota had expected to be sure. It wasn't quite what she wanted to hear, but Eri stood up and nearly floated out of the ship, realizing that what she wanted more than anything else was inches within her grasp. As soon as Eri left, Naota signed and slumped back on the bed, still sitting but leaning his back off the wall. He then grabbed Haruko and layed her on his lap. He started to pet her almost as if she was an animal, trying to decide if he truly should do as he was doing, or if he should give in and give himself to Eri.


	7. Chapter 6

The story Naota tells in this chapter is based off an original story I'm working on at the moment. What's that story about? Well, you'll see. I'll post a link or something whenever I get done with it.

**It's All About Haruko, Baby!**

**Chapter 6**

**Days 4 & 5**

Naota still sat on the bed with Haruko snoozing on his lap. The boy stared at a small clock that Eri had put in for them and realized while looking at it that he'd probably be best advised to go get ready for dinner. He really didn't want to disturb Haruko though; he had to admit, despite the fact that he really did not feel very comfortable around her, she looked so adorable when asleep that there's no way he could in good consciousness disturb such a tranquil image.

So he decided then that leaving her lying for the time being would be okay, because she quite apparently didn't intend on waking up any time soon. But just in case, he also closed the door to the room, since she was too short to open it anyway.

Naota came stumbling onto the ship just after dinner, his pocket full of a bit of food he had managed to sneak out. He had, of course, wrapped it in a napkin. He got onboard the ship, and immediately heard screaming coming from within the room he had left Haruko in. Naota rushed in and inside saw Haruko lying on the floor, screaming at the top of her lungs, clutching her left pointer finger.

"What's wrong?" he asked frantically.

"I... I f-f-fell an' hurt my f-finger." Naota took this explanation to mean she had fallen off the bed and landed on her finger. He took the finger from the girl and looked at it, noting a bruise.

"M-mommy k-k-kisses it..." Naota wasn't exactly jumping to do that, but he wasn't really sure why. He had kissed Haruko twice before, so what did kissing her on the finger matter? With this in mind, Naota did as the toddler asked then picked her up. She was still sobbing a bit.

"W-w-will you l-leave again?"

"No, I won't go anywhere." Speaking of going, immediately after Naota said this he noticed a still somewhat foreign smell in the air.

"Ugh..." he sighed before laying the toddler on the floor once more and getting to work. After finishing, he picked her up and set her down on the bed, then laid down while she began to jump on it.

"Do kids your age never run out of energy?" he groaned, getting a giggle out of Haruko as a response. The toddler suddenly stopped jumping and sat down.

"I wanna story!" These were most definitely not words Naota wanted to hear. He was really less than anxious to try again with this considering how the last time went. Considering how long it would be until Eri came back anyway- and he wasn't looking forward to that either- he really didn't want to give it a shot. But what choice did he have?

"Um... alright." He thought to a story he had read on the Internet once, then began, "So, there was this world that wasn't real but wanted to be. There was this boy, Noka, and he didn't want to be real..."

"And so that's how it went when Noka, Micha, and Mocha were turned into hamsters. Then, later Micha thought Mocha should act more like the younger sister and so-" but he was cut off by the sound of Haruko snoring. A bit tired himself, Naota picked up the little alien girl and laid her down in the bed, tucking her in before pulling the blanket up ever-so-slightly and getting under as well.

* * *

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Naota shot up upon being awoken by the sudden screaming of the toddler next to him, then realized how late it was.

"What wrong?" he moaned while rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"I'm hungry!" she shouted while continuing to scream. Oh yeah, he'd forgot to feed her. Well, she'd actually fallen asleep before he could, but either way, the infant was understandably hungry. What wasn't able to be understood by Naota, however, is how toddlers managed to wake up like this, let alone with so much energy. Nonetheless, the task of feeding Haruko was soon in progress, and soon thereafter Naota had finished.

"Will you go back to sleep now?"

"I wanna piggyback ride!" She had to be joking, he thought, until she began her usual screaming until she got what she wanted. So the boy gave in, and got down on all fours allowing Haruko to climb off the bed and onto his back, and she naturally began pulling his hair in some type of bizarre attempt to make him go faster. As the boy suffered the degrading and slightly painful task of galloping around the small bedroom with a toddler on his back pulling his hair, Naota could only question what he had done to get himself in such a predicament.

* * *

Exhausted, Naota woke up the next morning to see Haruko being held by Eri, who was staring down at him like he belonged to her, a pet or child of some sort. Confused as to why she had come so early, he sat up, then looked at the clock. 10:30.

Naota yawned, then started, "What are you doing here so early?"

"Came to see you," she said, all while Haruko looked both confused and disgusted by the dreamy look Eri was giving him.

"Ew, gwown-up love," the toddler said, drawing a chuckle from Eri and a look of both bewilderment and anxiety from Naota.

"Don't be silly," Eri told her, then turned back to Naota, "Anyway, I figured I would come early. Since it's a weekend I figured we could watch her together."

Naota could see through what she was saying, but decided it best not to argue with her over it. After all, as long as he knew what she planning it wouldn't work. Right? He hoped so.

"Well, I appreciate the help."

"You're welcome," Eri told him, then changed the subject, "You know, she's starting to stink."

"Then change her."

"Not like that. I mean she needs a bath."

"How do you expect to do that?" he asked, amazed they hadn't thought over that issue.

"I'm not sure... I guess we could bath her in the tub in the bathroom in the ship." Somehow, Naota could tell disaster was imminent.

* * *

Immediately after getting Haruko in the tub, Naota realized he was correct in his assumption. First of all, she kicked and screamed her way into the water, and once inside continually tried to get out. That wasn't too difficult to handle for the two of them, but then Eri and Naota came across their next hazard.

After getting used to the water, Haruko immediately began to splash, getting the entire bathroom soaking wet, including the two who were bathing her.


	8. Chapter 7

**It's All About Haruko, Baby**

**Chapter 7  
****Day 5**

Splash!

"Ugh! Haruko, hold still!" Naota shouted as he and Eri sat on the bathroom floor, attempting as best they could to give their young charge a bath.

"You're kind of cute when you're angry," Eri chuckled, causing Naota to groan.

"Not helping!" Naota turned back to the infant in the bathtub, still struggling to keep Haruko under control. With a childish laugh, Haruko began to kick her legs, sending water flying all over those who were bathing her.

"I think we're getting wetter than she is," Eri joked, having to raise her voice slightly to be heard over Haruko's tittering and splashing. Naota silently wondered if she realized that this wasn't exactly a good thing.

Naota scowled, then reached over towards the shampoo. Fortunately, despite the difficulties they had already done everything needed but wash her hair. Unfortunately, however, neither realized just how hard this was going to be.

"Ow!" Haruko had smashed his hand into the faucet! That sealed it: he was i so /i going to kill her when she returned to normal. A now furious Naota sent his other hand for the shampoo bottle and succeeded in reaching it this time, only to immediately catch a blast of water contaminated by both soap and what all had been cleaned off Haruko, flung directly into his face.

This entire time Eri was laughing. Hard. She was fond of Naota to say the very least, but this was some a funny situation to behold as Naota fought to a stand-still with a naked two-year-old.

* * *

"Okay, the bath is done, finally," Naota sighed as he sat down at the foot of the bed while re-diapered Haruko on the bed next to where he was sitting..

"Well, it was kind of fun..."

"Maybe for you!"

"Wanna play!" Haruko exclaimed just as Eri finished with the diaper. Eri tickled the pink-haired toddler's stomach, causing her to emit a single high-pitched chortle, before replying.

"Wait till I finish putting your clothes on, okay?"

"Kay, Ri!" Haruko chirped in response before sticking one of her wrinkled thumbs into her mouth. Naota silently thought about whether or not that would cause a soapy taste, until he hear Eri say his name.

"Naota, hand me one of the dresses, please," Eri requested of the boy, who did so. As Eri dressed the toddler, Naota picked himself up off the bed and began to pace around.

"You know, I've been thinking we need to find a way to have more free-time," Naota said to Eri while continuing to walk in circles. "Between school and Haruko, we don't have much time to get out."

"That's a great idea, Naota!" Eri answered. "Let's take Haruko around town today!"

Naota gasped in utter horror. "That's not what I meant," he assured hastily, almost frantically. He did not want to take the chance of being seen in public with Eri, or a baby, or both for that matter. No one in school would ever shut up about it.

"Don't worry, it'll be fun!"

"He he, Nota look funny!" Haruko, who had just removed her thumb from its presence in her mouth, laughed as Eri picked her up, revealing the boy's face turning red for the umpteenth time since discovering the toddler, though this time more because of what could come rather than one already had.

* * *

Naota was the one condemned to carrying Haruko, as Eri thought it better for her to carry a camera. Naota figured it was for blackmail. "Where to first?" she asked him. He quickly answered.

"I dunno, home?" Eri gave Naota a 'look'. "It was worth a shot..."

"Naota, she needs to get out every once in awhile." Eri turned her head away from him, an unseen evil grin spreading across her lips. She quickly spun around, much to Naota's shock. "Smile!"

"Ack!" Naota very nearly dropped Haruko, not to mention came close to having a heart attack. The docile creature who had Naota had seen all morning seemed to suddenly mutate into a monster known only as the Bitch.

"Naota! How could you—!? Ugh!" That was weird, Naota thought. Usually Eri wouldn't have been likely to yell so long as he kept hold of Haruko, which he did. "Trade me!" Naota wasn't happy to have Eri mad at him for something that didn't even happen, much less when it would've been her fault if it did, but he was happy to exchange the baby for the camera, since it basically eliminated his complaints as to the things being transported. Already things were not looking good for one Nandaba Naota, especially considering that at that point in time they were still standing in front of the ship!

The happy Eri suddenly seemed to return to normal as she said, while tousling li'l' Haruko's cute pink hair, "How about we take her to the park?"

Gack! That wasn't good! "I... eh..." Naota knew he had to plan these next words carefully, since he had reason to suspect Eri was a loose cannon today given her already contradictory actions. "Maybe we should do something else. Something where no one can, err..."

"Trade me again," Eri said with a grin. Naota quickly did so without thinking about it, only to be surprised as Eri snapped another surprise picture of him. Fortunately this time nothing happened, though they did still immediately switch back. "Sorry, but you looked _way_ too cute to not take a picture." Yes, it was official. Eri's mind was broken. Either that or the blackmail theory was still plausible.

The girl bounced the pink-haired toddler up and down a few times, leading to some childish cooing coming from both females. After she had stopped, Eri lowered her face close to Haruko's and asked in the same sort of childish voice, "How 'bout it, baby, do you want to go to da park?"

"Yay park!" Eri seemed to take this as a confirmation. Naota would have pointed out that Haruko probably would've said "Yay!" for any option presented to her, but it probably would not have done any good.

* * *

"San'bots!" Haruko squealed as soon as three (and the inanimate object that Naota suspected would be his downfall) entered the park. Eri giggled at the toddler's enthusiasm almost every time it was displayed. Which of course meant she giggled almost any time Haruko did _anything_.

"Playing in the sandbox sounds fun. Doesn't it, Naota?" That did sound good to him. He could sit on a park bench and occasionally glance up to see if Haruko was doing anything she shouldn't do, and if the situation presented itself he could easily deny having anything to do with her. Naota early nodded to show his approval.

"Perfect! Have fun you two!" Trick question! In the blink of an eye Eri laid Haruko in Naota's unsuspecting arms and took the camera, all in the same motion. Naota would have argued, but Haruko was grinning up at her in the widest smile she could muster and Eri suddenly looked very preoccupied by something, maybe even in pain, and was occasionally stealing glances down at her feet with one hand on her stomach. So Naota signed and began to walk away, and Eri walked over to a bench and sat down.


End file.
